We carried out an announced inspection on 17 May 2017, when we visited the offices. We gave 24 hours' notice to the service because the location provides domiciliary care and we wanted to be sure a member of the management team would be available. The provider is registered for this service to provide homecare and supported living services to people in the community with a learning disability. At the time of this inspection the agency was providing a regulated care service to 90 people in their own homes. This included supported-living schemes located in Doncaster, Sheffield, Barnsley and Grimsby.

The service has a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At our last inspection of this service in August 2016 the service was rated as Good.

People told us they felt safe with the staff from Lifeways. Staff knew how to keep people safe and risks to people's safety and well-being were identified and managed. People's care records were regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the change in their needs. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to support people. The provider had a robust recruitment process which ensured that potential staff where suitable to work with vulnerable people.

People kept their medicines in their own homes and were prompted and or supported by staff to take them and this was managed and recorded appropriately. People were asked for their permission before staff assisted them with care or support.

Staff received supervision from their manager which helped them to feel supported and valued, although the provider had recognised that annual staff appraisals had not consistently taken place. Staff told us they felt able to seek assistance when they needed to.

Where applicable, people received support to eat and drink regularly and were assisted to access healthcare appointments as needed. People's privacy and dignity was respected and promoted. People told us they were treated with kindness and compassion by staff and continuity of staff positively impacted on the ability to develop meaningful relationships with care staff.

People's care records were regularly updated to provide a detailed account of their needs and care. People told us they felt confident to raise anything that concerned them with staff or management, and any issues were addressed and resolved. Arrangements were in place to obtain feedback from people who used the service; which showed that people where happy with the service they received.

People and staff were positive about both the registered manager and provider. The registered manager and provider regularly audited the quality and safety of service provision. If issues were identified, they took action to address them.

The provider did not always ensure that notifiable incidents were reported to CQC in a timely manner.